chris_b

Roasting improves the stability of the neck. I've seen many older basses with twisted and bowed necks so there can be problems with instruments of a certain age. If roasting prevents neck movement in the future it will be worthwhile. As I say, the price will come down with the advent of new industrial processes. Roasting itself can twist the neck blanks so for every one that is thrown away the price of the others goes up. Roasting is just another development and certainly isn't hype.

Looking good.

Roasting woods is just another in a long line of innovations which improve basses, like graphite rods, quarter sawn necks, etc. Maybe roasting will remain a custom offering but if they discover a process that can do this on industrial levels we might see all basses with roasted necks with non roasted being the boutique option.

There have been a few! During the time Wal's were out of fashion I could have picked up so many! While I was browsing, one guy came into the Bass Centre and was trying to offload a mk1 Wal for £300. They didn't want it!! I should have jumped on that one. Martin Kemp's JG leather scratch plate mk1 was for sale in the Bass Cellar Denmark Street. That was the best sounding bass I've ever heard. They wanted £1000, which I thought that was too much. I'm still kicking myself. Various pre CBS Fenders have passed me by.

I like them all, but I've probably played Come Together more times than McCartney has!! We used to do the Joe Cocker version of She came In Through The Bathroom Window. That was always fun.

No band I've been in for the last 26 years has rehearsed unless there was a specific problem that couldn't be talked over. That's been about 6 rehearsals since the early 90's.

As far as I understand, roasted woods are more stable than non-roasted. I guess that's an advantage with necks. It's not a fad or obsession, after years of inaction basses, amps and cabs are being designed to higher specs. It's a great time to be a bass player.

I got a Boss TU-12 soon after I saw an early one in a shop, and I worked out what they were. Easy, accurate and soundless tuning, what a brilliant idea.

This. My band at school had a 3 piece brass section and we had a rule, if anyone needed to tune up everyone else had to shut up. When the call "Tuning" went out you shut up or you got told off.

Get one of these and call the band, tell them you changed your mind!!!!

Radio Friendly? Depends which programs you listen to. For me it's anything recorded out of the Stax, Fame, Hi, Atlantic, All American, J&M, Cosimo, Muscle Shoals, Chess, Malaco and Motown studios in the 60' and 70's. That's anything from Mustang Sally, to Respect Yourself, via Heard It Through The Grapevine, Spoonful, Do Right Woman, The Night Time Is The Right Time, Mr Big Stuff, Take Me To The River etc.

You can play any style of music on any bass. If you are totally new to bass anything we say will probably be wide of the mark. You have to play some basses and find out, first hand, what it's all about. Half an hour in a shop trying basses might convince you that you should really be taking up the saxophone instead!! Anyway, don't make any decisions until you've tried some basses.

Mark as sold and dooooooooooooooooooooooon't delete the details in the thread!!!!! OK!!

I'd suggest that you get a second band. A change is as good as a rest etc. And give me a call if you want to dep any gigs out.

Find a good teacher and have some bass lessons designed to push you in new directions. A breath of fresh air and being pushed to achieve by someone else can jump start your interest. I did that last year and while it hasn't dramatically changed me, I play better lines and with more confidence as a result.

There will be a significant change. It's a totally different cab. There will be increased lower extension due to the larger cab size and different tuning and extended highs due to the tweeter. Call or drop Barefaced an email and they'll get back with the definitive answers.

A pre amp is a pre amp, whether it's in the bass or in a box on the floor shouldn't make too much difference to the sound.

IMO I'd probably agree with the band. It's hard to accept, I know, but the flow of the gig is usually more important than any benefit you can get from using different basses. I know the subtle differences are important, but keep that for the record. The gig needs to gain momentum and even guitarists swapping instruments can slow everything down. Someone should give them a slap when they take 5 mins to find the right sound on the pedal board! Of the recent gigs I've seen none of the bassists has changed a bass, from my local gig to Vulfpeck, Keb Mo, Jon Cleary and Vintage Trouble, and on Youtube, from The Allman Brothers and Bryan Adams to Toto, one bass covered everything. When I saw the Stones, from the back of the O2, Daryl Jones's sound was exactly the same, even when he switched basses!

Does that have a low B? What do you think of the sound? Is it a "universal" instrument or does it sound better on certain types of music?

Have you thought about using an outboard preamp? All the tone and none of the work?

There are two ways of looking at this. Either more is better or more is just needless showing off. I'm on the "One bass to rule them all" side of the discussion. Get the best sounding bass you can buy and find a way of making it sound great in everything you play. Buy a good bass and the rest is easy.

When Kenny Jones played with the Who JE didn't like his style, but he did give Jones a complement when he said, it was the first time he'd played with a drummer who finished a roll around the kit at the same tempo as when he started! So dodgy timekeeping and drummers goes right to the top!

Daryl Jones in the Stones switches between P basses and his Laklands. Bassists can switch between many basses in the studio, but most tend not to on stage. Drums and bass tend to stick to a collective sound whereas the front line can be changing their sound and effects on every verse, let alone song.

Sorry but you dismiss 5 string basses without understanding them. They are more than a few low notes as is regularly explained every time these negative 5 string posts come up. 5 string basses will find the "holes" and short cuts in all techniques. Short fingers just means you need a better technique. I have numbers that I play on 2, 3, 4 and 5 strings. So the most practical bass for me is a 5 string bass, rather than a selection of 2, 3, 4 and 5 string basses.

Exactly. This subject is always mired in negativity. It required far more effort to pick up a 4 string bass and learn to play it than it ever takes to adapt to a 5 string bass. Make it a positive move, that enhances your playing, and there is no down side.